Employees of a bar in Orenburg were added to the list of terrorists and extremists for holding an LGBT event, according to news reports on March 29.
Alexander Klimov and Diana Kamilyanova were detained in March 2024. They are facing charges of organizing activities associated with the LGBT movement, labeled as 'an extremist organization.' This is the first such criminal case in Russia.
According to the investigators, Klimov, the art director of the POSE bar, hired travesty artists for shows and 'propagated non-traditional sexual relationships' to the bar visitors on Telegram. The bar administrator Diana Kamilyanova approved the show program, filmed performances, and also promoted LGBT.
In March, law enforcers came to the club and interrupted an LGBT event.
LGBT was recognized as an extremist organization in Russia in November 2023. After that, law enforcers started fining Russians for photos, clothes, and accessories in rainbow colors. For instance, in February 2024, a resident of Moscow was fined for displaying symbols associated with extremists. He used the 'Gosuslugi' portal to send an appeal to the e-reception of the prosecutor's office. The message contained insults to Vladimir Putin and slogans 'propagating the extremist LGBT movement.' The man attached pictures of LGBT flags and men kissing each other. He also mentioned the movement's motto: "Love, be proud, fight, create" – when written in Russian, the first letters of each word form the LGBT abbreviation.
